Revered documentarian duo Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker have been in the game long enough that putting together a reasonably engaging piece of work on an unlikely subject is old hat. In the same way, there have been enough documentaries about animal rights that audiences can accept nonhuman cognition and interiority as a given, without much need to rehash old scientific evidence. This is backed up in Unlocking the Cage, which includes a scene in which the characters discover a survey which shows that more than half of Americans believe to some degree that animals deserve at least some of the rights that come with personhood, rather than being relegated to the status of things for humans to do with as they please. In a straightforward but effective way, Hegedus and Pennebaker chronicle a multiyear effort to launch the first court case on behalf of a chimpanzee.
The lead character is Steve Wise,...
The lead character is Steve Wise,...
- 1/30/2016
- by Daniel Schindel
- The Film Stage
Not everyone in the docu community is fortunate enough to roll at Alex Gibney or Amy Berg-like speeds. Similar to our off-target crystal ball prognostications of Yance Ford’s Strong Island, we’re also celebrating a third year prediction for this game-changing docu to break into the socially conscious film festival. With all signs finally pointing towards a 2016 release (they’re currently working on the score) Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker’s will surely stir up crowds with Unlocking the Cage – in essence a doc on the last remaining frontier by docu pioneers.
Gist: Follows attorney Steve Wise’s fight to give animals personhood rights and break down the legal wall separating them from humans.
Production Co./Producers: Rosadel Varela (Control Room). Executive Producer: Frazer Pennebaker (King of Pastry).
Prediction: U.S. Documentary Competition or Non-Comp Documentary Premieres.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic). Tbd (international)
More 2015 Sundance...
Gist: Follows attorney Steve Wise’s fight to give animals personhood rights and break down the legal wall separating them from humans.
Production Co./Producers: Rosadel Varela (Control Room). Executive Producer: Frazer Pennebaker (King of Pastry).
Prediction: U.S. Documentary Competition or Non-Comp Documentary Premieres.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic). Tbd (international)
More 2015 Sundance...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Despite the lottery-esque sounding odds, the U.S Dramatic Competition section which produces the finest American indie specimens such as Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and Whiplash is fairly consistent in terms of quality. Last year’s crop of sixteen have almost all had their theatrical releases with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter being the last one out of the gates (pegged with an early 2015 release). Last week we individually looked at our top 80 Sundance Film Fest Predictions (you’ll find 30 other titles worth considering in our intro) and below, we’ve split the list into narrative and non-fiction film items and have both identified and color-coded our picks in an AtoZ cheat sheet. You’ll find 2015′s answer to Whiplash located somewhere in the stack below. Click on the individual titles below, for the film’s profile.
- 11/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
A documentary film that will do more for the animal ethics, protection and liberation debate than Project Nim, The Cove and every other doc that has preceded it, it’s almost unfathomable that gods of the docu field in Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker even needed a Kickstarter supported campaign especially after more than four decades of working ahead of the curve. Unlocking the Cage added some additional coin via the 2013 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and now the only question that remains is: how much longer do the pair remain with their protagonist (the passionate and compassionate lawyer Steve Wise) and the story before they break away from it? Round number twelve might be happening as we speak.
Gist: Follows attorney Steve Wise’s fight to give animals personhood rights and break down the legal wall separating them from humans.
Production Co./Producers: Rosadel Varela. Executive Producer: Frazer Pennebaker,
Prediction: U.
Gist: Follows attorney Steve Wise’s fight to give animals personhood rights and break down the legal wall separating them from humans.
Production Co./Producers: Rosadel Varela. Executive Producer: Frazer Pennebaker,
Prediction: U.
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
D. A. Pennebaker — the filmmaker behind the famed 1967 Bob Dylan documentary, Don't Look Back — and his longtime partner Chris Hegedus have started a Kickstarter to fund their latest project, Unlocking the Cage, which chronicles the work of animal rights lawyer Steve Wise. As Pennebaker explains, Wise and his organization, the Nonhuman Rights Project, have been working to grant animals personhood, believing they will only get the protection they deserve if we no longer see them as things.
'Rolling Stone' Readers Pick the 10 Best Rock Documentaries
Pennebaker and Hegedus have raised over $55,000 for their film,...
'Rolling Stone' Readers Pick the 10 Best Rock Documentaries
Pennebaker and Hegedus have raised over $55,000 for their film,...
- 5/15/2014
- Rollingstone.com
From "Don't Look Back" with Bob Dylan, "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" featuring David Bowie and "The War Room" about the team behind Bill Clinton's 1992 President campaign, the Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus have long chronicled stories about passionate people. With their latest project, "Unlocking the Cage," they have an equally compelling character: lawyer Steve Wise, who has been taking legal measures to gain equal rights for animals. Wise is seeking personhood rights for animals, specifically for four chimpanzees in New York State. Pennebaker and Hegedus have been working on the film for the last two years and are now in a holding pattern until Wise presents his case to the Appellate Court this fall. Indiewire recently spoke with the legendary documentarians about why the story appealed to them and why they decided to turn to Kickstarter to raise money. With nine days left to go,...
- 5/13/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
As one of the pioneers of the Direct Cinema movement back in the 1960s, D.A. Pennebaker has long been associated with mostly observational films and concert docs, including the classics Don’t Look Back, The War Room, Monterey Pop, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars, Town Bloody Hall and Company: Original Cast Album. Neither he nor his wife and filmmaking partner, Chris Hegedus, are thought of as directors of issue films. Their next feature, therefore, seems like a departure, though it probably isn’t as behind a cause as it sounds. The doc is called Unlocking the Cage and it follows attorney Steve Wise in his attempt to give animals the same legal rights as humans. Chimpanzees are the main focus, having been involved in his landmark lawsuit demanding personhood for the apes, one of which was a plaintiff in court last December. In their campaign video on Kickstarter, where...
- 4/23/2014
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Communications company Kojo has today announced the departure of CEO Loewn Steel.
The announcement:
Creative storytelling company Kojo has announced that Chief Executive Officer Loewn Steel is leaving her role to pursue a new business endeavour.
“After a long and successful association with Kojo, I have decided to leave the company to establish my own consulting firm, working as a mentor for business leaders,” Ms Steel said.
“As such I will be leaving Kojo as Chief Executive Officer, effective from the end of January 2013. However, I will continue to consult to Kojo in my new capacity.” Ms Steel and Kojo’s Managing Director Dale Roberts have worked closely over the past 12 months to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Mr Roberts has been a partner with Kojo since 1995 and was appointed to the role of Managing Director in July 2011.
“Working with Dale has been a great experience, we share the same...
The announcement:
Creative storytelling company Kojo has announced that Chief Executive Officer Loewn Steel is leaving her role to pursue a new business endeavour.
“After a long and successful association with Kojo, I have decided to leave the company to establish my own consulting firm, working as a mentor for business leaders,” Ms Steel said.
“As such I will be leaving Kojo as Chief Executive Officer, effective from the end of January 2013. However, I will continue to consult to Kojo in my new capacity.” Ms Steel and Kojo’s Managing Director Dale Roberts have worked closely over the past 12 months to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Mr Roberts has been a partner with Kojo since 1995 and was appointed to the role of Managing Director in July 2011.
“Working with Dale has been a great experience, we share the same...
- 12/10/2012
- by Georgina Pearson
- Encore Magazine
For their next project, renowned documentarians D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus – husband/wife directors of The War Room, the Oscar-nominated 1993 look at Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign -- will spotlight a lawyer on a mission to gain legal personhood for nonhuman animals. The duo are following Steve Wise, president of the Nonhuman Rights Project who teaches animal rights jurisprudence at several law schools. The project will initially focus on certain animals that show "a capacity for autonomy and can act intentionally, which is something courts care about," Wise tells THR. Photos: 10 of Tribeca 2012's Films to
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- 7/25/2012
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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